4 ways to prevent user churn!

How can we prevent users from interrupting operations during the core process and causing loss? Below, the author of this article will share with you four methods he has tested when optimizing actual solutions.

One of the tasks I often do in my actual work is to optimize the core processes of the product. The purpose is to retain as many users as possible who enter the mini program and make them our effective users.

In order to make it easier for everyone to understand the following content, I need to explain the demand background first:

Taking the product of the author’s company, the “Business Card Handing Mini Program”, as an example, if 100 new users enter the mini program every day, in most cases these 100 new users are those who received business cards sent by others using the “Business Card Handing” mini program. By clicking on the other party’s business card, they enter the mini program and become one of our “new users”.

However, these new users are not our effective users, because some of them may just leave after reading the business cards they received, without saving them, nor creating their own business cards. They will not use our products to exchange business cards with others in the future, so these people are not our effective users.

Valid user-defined: In this product, you create your own electronic business card.

The ultimate goal of a product may be to generate real profits, but before that, a larger number of effective users must be its core goal. Therefore, we will frequently optimize and test the processes of major growth scenarios, hoping to find a design solution with a high enough conversion rate. (Or maybe this is more common in startups, and some mature products will certainly not change their core processes frequently.)

Our goal: a larger number of core users

Optimization link: Improve the conversion rate from "new users" to "effective users"

So, our problem now is very clear, that is: how can we prevent users from interrupting operations in the core process and causing loss?

Here are a few methods I have tested when optimizing actual solutions:

1. Use the information that users want to obtain to perform forced operations

In this design, users can only see the other party's full information after saving the business card, otherwise they can only see partial information.

The original intention was to make users save business cards by using the information they wanted to obtain to perform mandatory operations, thereby increasing the conversion rate of the first step of the entire core process.

Similar designs are common in content-based products, such as the 2018 version of Baidu Tieba. When we open a post to view it, the content on the first page can be viewed at will, but if we want to continue to view the second page, we must log in to view it.

When viewing former employees' comments about a company on Kanzhun.com, one must also log in and post a valid comment before continuing to view hidden information.

There are also many products that have different rules set to unlock more functions, which is essentially a design of "improving product data by requiring users to perform mandatory operations on the basis of free use."

Of course, forcing users to perform operations will have many advantages and disadvantages. This article only considers it from the perspective of "preventing core process interruptions."

2. Directly provide a button to continue the process in the pop-up window instead of interrupting the process.

This method may be more practical for students who have just entered the industry. Due to the restrictions of some rules in the product, we often use various pop-up boxes to prompt users. When the user does not meet a certain condition and cannot continue the process, it is best for us to directly provide the user with an entry to complete the unmet condition at this time. Instead of asking users to manually close the prompt window and then find the entrance on their own.

When users search on their own, various problems may arise, such as their attention being distracted by other elements, or they may not be able to find the entrance, resulting in loss.

For example: In WeChat, if we use the scan code payment function without setting a payment password, a prompt box will be given. In the prompt box, we can directly click the "Go to set payment password" button to complete the unmet conditions, instead of closing the prompt and then clicking "My-Payment-More-Set payment password" to enter this link.

Similarly, if we don’t want users to complete certain operations, such as uninstalling software on their computers, we can also prevent users from completing the operation by hiding it at the next level/unselecting it by default/visually misleading it, etc.

Generally, I will never use software designed like this, but I have to say that some users behave completely differently from us. When we design, we must not assume that all users think and behave like us.

3. Adjust the visual weight of the main button and the close button

In the design specifications of IOS, buttons are generally positioned on the left and right, and the prominence of the main button is emphasized only through color. However, many products have obviously expanded this design a lot. For example, the Meituan APP on the left side of the picture above further increases the visual proportion of the close button and the main button by adjusting the position and color of the close button and the background color block.

Similarly, the Maoyan APP on the right also adjusted the position and color of the close button.

Visual guidance has been a very important way to increase conversion rates since the PC Internet era. It is still used in various products and scenarios today. It has to be said that this is a very effective and simple way. Just be careful not to turn it into a rogue design.

Another point to note is that due to WeChat's restrictions on mini-programs, in some cases our developers are unable to write more complex logic/call interfaces on the buttons in the pop-up window. Therefore, there are still some differences in the design of mini programs and APPs.

4. Use accurate data to tell users how far they are from completion

Generally speaking, our core process will include several steps. When the user completes many operations according to your guidance and design, fills in a lot of information, but fails before the last step, that must be the most frustrating time for the designer. So at this point, we'd better tell the user: you are only one step away from completion.

Generally, there will be progress instructions in processes with many steps. The common form is: 1/4, 2/4. There is a small detail here that it is best to adjust the special copy in the last step, just like the copy in the picture above, instead of using the boring 4/4.

The reason is that text has a greater impact on people, and can also make users feel that "I have invested a lot of time and effort, and it would be a loss if I quit now." That is, taking advantage of the user's fear of loss.

Write at the back

The above four methods are some of the methods the author encountered and thought of in recent work. The complete design to improve conversion rate also includes more complex things, such as design in user cognition, value transfer, etc. Everyone is welcome to add to the discussion!

Related reading:

1. How to reduce the churn rate of APP users?

2. User churn prediction model, how to evaluate its effectiveness?

3. How to improve product stickiness and reduce user churn rate?

4.10 strategies for APP to reduce user churn rate!

5. How to solve the high user churn rate? Here are 10 strategies

6How to analyze retention data and reduce user churn?

Author: Du Zhao

Source: The Majesty of Design